"A woman in her lifetime will spend far more hours hugging a handbag than a man."

-- Ellen Rachlin, American poet

Sorry guys. The statement rings quite true: It's a rare occurrence when a lady parts from her handbag.

Aside from sleeping, that purse is most likely in eyesight at all times.

The curators at Boulder History Museum kept this in mind when choosing their new exhibit, "Pocketbook Anthropology: A Treasure of Handbags." The exhibit is displaying more than 60 handbags -- one of them dating back to 1890, years before the museum's house, at 1206 Euclid Ave. on University Hill, even existed.

"We've been reading a lot about the whole relationship women have with their purses, and it's so true," says Susan Linde, marketing and public relations director for the museum. "It's about what people keep in it, it's personal and it's so much about who they are. It's what is on the inside, as well as the outside that conveys their persona.

"It's fashion, but it's also a statement about the person."

A purse that looks like an ancient Chinese fan, a Titanic-shaped clutch, a conch shell pocketbook, a crab cage handbag, a bag made of moss -- the museum has them all.

"A lot of them aren't totally functional," says Julie Schumaker, curator of exhibits.

But fashionable, they sure are.

Like the tin purses, or the beaded purses from the 1920s. There's also a cake purse with strawberries on top, a bottle cap bag and even a purse from the 1970s made out of cigarette packs. And a beautiful blue Prada from 2006.

"Every one is just so unique," Schumaker says.

Even the Native American-inspired purse that dates back to what Linde says is "when they actually wore purses to carry things, versus just for show."

The exhibit also features six local designers: The stylish and sporty Sherpani bags; the color-filled fabric purses from Maruca; the chic, eco-friendly Vamp Bags; purses made from reclaimed truck inner tubes by English Retreads; the colorfully crafty Ric Rac handbags (which are on consignment in the museum gift shop) and the environmentally friendly Green Guru bags, which uses reclaimed, recycled and renewable materials.

"It's a fun and contemporary exhibit that we could tie into Boulder and bring in a younger generation of visitor," Schumaker says.

The exhibit will also host various programs and handbag history talks in October, including "The Evolution of the Pocketbook" and "Purse Huggers: Women's Intimate Relationship with their Purses."

"Some of the panels talk about what a woman carries in her purse - the things that you carry with you throughout the day and how the purse is the utensil for that," Schumaker says.

The convenience factor is great, but the fashion? Even better.

As Linde says, "A purse is a reflection of the self. It collects memories."

So ladies, you are what you carry -- so keep hugging that purse. And does what's inside count? As the old English proverb says, "A heavy purse makes a light heart."